Nintendo wins Wii patent case

Many a patent infringement lawsuit has been brought against Nintendo and its Wii console, but the Japanese gaming giant has now prevailed in one without the need for a jury trial.

The case was brought against Nintendo by Fenner Investment Ltd, a Texas-based company that claimed both the Wii and its controllers and the GameCube had infringed upon a patent it owns that relates to controllers.

Extracts from the patent mention a "joystick port interface [that] includes an integrated circuit receiving an analogue joystick position measurement signal”. It also describes a method for a “bidirectional buffer circuit” to receive an “analogue joystick position measurement signal”.

In the US District Court of Tyler, Texas, Judge Leonard Davis ruled against the infringement and decided there was no need for a jury trial.

Nintendo is, of course, overjoyed. However, Fenner may yet choose to appeal against the judge's ruling. ®